The opening match of the inaugural Global Super League T20 tournament sees the hosts Guyana Amazon Warriors looking to make a winning start to the event when they take on the Pakistan representatives Lahore Qalandars.
Nothing will be won and lost in this match but you would imagine three wins will be needed for the four games both play in order to make the final so the pressure will be on the team that loses which could make for a competitive outing.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have won the CPL competition last year and reached the final of it in their title defence this term so they are very much a team who play conditions in this part of the world well and that will certainly be to their advantage here it has to be said. It isn’t just the knowledge of the pitches that they will have on their side but also know which areas of the ground to attack when they have the bat in hand and how to go about defending things when they are bowling.
This isn’t the full Guyana squad from earlier in the season but they have enough options in their batting order to cover for the absences they have in that department and in the main the bowlers which took them to the final of the CPL 2024 campaign are all here so they certainly shouldn’t lack for anything with the ball. The only thing which could get the better of them is rust but I wouldn’t think that is something that will impact just them.
Lahore Qalandars
The Lahore Qalandars head to the Caribbean looking to go much better than they did in the Pakistan Super League earlier in the campaign. They finished bottom of the table in that competition and didn’t really feature in the event at all and with huge name players not able to be a part of this tournament you kind of wonder how they are going to put a better showing together. The positive to that is they are not the only team missing big players but it certainly doesn’t help matters.
When you look at the Lahore side there is a lack of genuine batting depth in their squad. There are batters who can come good but you would call them cameo batters rather than gun ones but there probably too many all-rounders. If they can put up the sufficient level of runs here though, the one thing we do know about any team that is from Asia is they should enjoy wickets which usually have a bit of turn in them and which aren’t pacy or bouncy.
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Key Players
Moeen Ali could very well go up and open the batting for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the absence of Rahmanullah Gurbaz who isn’t around for this tournament. That, coupled with his bowling, makes him a big player for the Warriors.
You get the feeling that if the Lahore Qalandars are going to have any chance in this match then new recruit Adam Rossington has to get them off to a decent start before the ball goes soft and it becomes a lot harder to score.
Betting
When I looked at the outright market I really couldn’t believe that the Lahore Qalandars were as high in the betting as they were and I don’t see where they can land much of a blow in this match. The big probably that they have might well be with the ball where leading bowlers in the PSL – Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zaman Khan are missing and Tabraiz Shamsi has played for Guyana so most of their batters will know what he brings to the party and can play accordingly.
I expect the Guyana Amazon Warriors to win this match and if their big players all perform they can win it well as well. They have serious quality with the bat in the likes of Moeen Ali, Shai Hope and Roston Chase and they have power with Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd while their bowling unit is nicely rounded and can handle all conditions. I’m a little surprised that the handicap for this one is only 5.5 wickets or 19.5 runs. There looks to be a lot more between these two than that.
Tips
Back Guyana Amazon Warriors (-5.5wickets/19.5runs) to beat Lahore Qalandars for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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